April 27, 2013

Large-Block Quilts Tour and a Giveaway!

Hello hello! Today i'm happy to be participating in my friend Vickie Eapen's blog hop book tour. So glad you could join me for a peek at one of the many fun, simple and quick quilt patterns from Vickie's new book:
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When a complimentary copy arrived in the mail, i was so surprised to see that the cover quilt was made with my fabric collection, Terrain! What an honor.

Something i really like about this book is just what the title says, the blocks are big! Which means piecing goes together really easily, seams nest perfectly and points are sharp — well, i got pretty close which is an improvement for me. There are lots of great patterns to choose from and after flipping through trying to make up my mind, i finally decided on a pattern called Quaint. Here, Vickie made it using Denyse Schmidt's fabric line, Aunt Edna.
I picked this block design because i thought the stars looked like suns and i wanted to show you another little peek of my newest fabric collection, Sunnyside. For those of you who were wondering, Sunnyside will be in shops this September (sorry for the shameless promo). I think i'll be continuing on and making the whole Quaint quilt, but here is the one gigantic 20" block i've made so far:

It went together in no time flat (even for me), so this book would also be great for quick gifts or fun retreat quilts that you could easily finish in a weekend. The good news is that Vickie and Martingale were so generous to offer a copy of this fab book to one lucky winner! Please leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. I'll pick a random winner on May 1st — what a nice way to start the month! Be sure to visit all the participating blogs for a total of 10 chances to win — you may have to go back to the posting date to find where to leave your comment. For winners outside the U.S., Vickie may opt to send you an electronic copy (eBook) instead of a hard-copy.
4/20 Vickie
4/24 Jen W
4/27 Me!
 4/28 Stefanie R.
4/29 Stitch This!
On a personal note, i met Vickie back in 2009 at my very first Quilt Market. Hard to believe it was that long ago already. Then in August 2010, when my dear friends Joyce and Sarah were opening the doors of their new quilt shop outside Cleveland, sweet Vickie made an hour long drive to be with us for the celebrations!
I'll never forget that. And now we're celebrating her first book. What an accomplishment for such a well-deserving, talented and kind person. Congratulations, Vickie! Keep up your creative and inspiring endeavors.
xo,
kate

April 5, 2013

Furry Friday (special edition)

It's quite a special day here and these two have
something to sing about!
Can you believe they're already TWO!? Time sure flies.
Here is Lou then...
...and Lou now.
Franny then...
...and Franny now.
Another thing that has grown over time is all the love in our hearts.
Happy Birthday to our sweet Frannycakes and Wiggly Lou!
Have a wonderful weekend.
xo,
kate